Top 25 Weird and Unusual Borders Around the World

Someone who does not travel much is only going to know his nation’s border as a long line of barbed wire stretching away for hundreds of miles with an occasional gate through which people might go to the other side. The way they show in the movies. But luckily, even though we humans have divided the earth claiming its parts, which was never ours to divide in the first place, nature follows its own course and in a few cases here, it also defies our selfish motives in the form of mistakes made by us, humans. Here are 25 such weird and unusual borders from around the world:

Slovakia, Austria and Hungary

Ever heard of having breakfast in one country, lunch in another and dinner in yet another country? Well, at this tri-point between Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, that could actually be done! Well, not really because this place is under watch by armies of three countries and they might just not entertain our fancy.

24. Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana

Mt. Roraimare is located at a point where the borders of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana meet. The peaks of the Canaima National Park are majorly in tabletop form and are considered to be a part of some of the oldest geological formations on Earth. These date back to almost two billion years.

Poland and Ukraine

These two fish across the border between Poland and Ukraine were created by the designer Yaroslav Koziaroy and are meant to symbolize unity and trade between the two nations.

Nepal and China – Mt. Everest

You must be wondering what a mountain peak is doing in a list of borders. Here’s what. Mt. Everest is located between Nepal and China in such a literal manner that the common border of the two countries goes right through it. Due to this, it is the highest border in the world.

China, Russia and North Korea – Tumen River

Tumen flows through Northeast Asia and if you trace its banks, you might be able to visit three countries by walking just a mile. On the southern side of Lake Khasan near the coast on the border of Russia and North Korea, if you start walking from N. Korea towards north, for a mile, you would cross a part of China and end up in Russia.

Bir Tawil

A big mistake was done by the British when they were ruling over Egypt and Sudan. In 1899, they drew a map which stated that all the area north of the 22nd parallel would belong to Egypt and the area south of it would belong to Sudan. This sent the infertile land of Bir Tawil to Sudan and the fertile one of Halabi to Egypt. But in 1902, another map was drawn according to which the two plots of land exchanged their countries. Tragedy is, both the countries refuse to count Bir Tawill as their territory which makes it an unclaimed piece of land.

Virginia And Maryland

Originally, the district of Columbia was cut out in a large diamond shape out of Virginia and Maryland, but later on, the part that belonged to Virginia was returned to it. However, when the border was first formed, large stones were placed at each mile around the district. A total of 100 stones were placed and most of them are still in place. Silver Spring in Maryland marks the northernmost point of the district.

India and Bangladesh

Between India and Bangladesh, there is a territory named Cooch-Behar district which is a very confusing case of national borders. Here, 102 mini Indian exclaves are on the Bangladeshi side of the border whereas 71 Bangladeshi exclaves are on the Indian side of the border and to make it even more confusing, some of these exclaves have further smaller exclaves inside them which belong to the other country.

Germany and Czech Republic

Well there is a barbed wire here, but if it doesn’t show, the different approaches to combat rodents make it pretty clear. While Germany decided to have trees, Czech Republic just let it be.

USA and Mexico

Yes, friendship does not see where you come from , these people living across the common border of USA and Mexico show that clearly. In the image, residents of Naco, Arizona and Naco, Mexico play volleyball across the border fence.

Canada and USA – Northwest Angle

According to the Treaty of Paris laid out in 1787, the British territories were to be given to the freshly independent America. But they were possibly using a wrong map while deciding this for the Angle Township. This is a 123 square mile piece of land which actually belongs to Minnesota but is stuck in the middle of Canadian territory. It is known as the “Northwest Angle,”and can be accessed only after crossing through Canada.

Australia and Everywhere

With all pun intended, Australia has water on all sides and does not share common borders with any country.

Himalayan border between India and Pakistan

Borders are what convey how the relationship between two countries are. Take borders of countries in the European Union for example, the are simply marked by a line or a road sign. On the other hand are countries with tense relationships, above is the Himalayan border between India and Pakistan, adorned with check posts and guards at various places. The picture of this valley is rather sad.

Brazil and Bolivia

The green mass which looks like moss is actually a forest. Brazil is on the left side while Bolivia on the right. The different forest maintenance policies of the two countries make their common border a view to behold from high up in the sky.

Spain and Morocco

The small Spanish town of Ceuta is an exclave. It is located on the northern cost of Africa surrounded by Morocco and because of the Strait of Gibraltar is separated from the Iberian Peninsular. Yes that’s right, a part of Spain is located away from Spain because of which Morocco claims it and this has forced the Spanish to border it with three meter high fence.

Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil

This location is known as the “Triple Frontier”. As it is visible from the picture, the border is actually a river, no, two rivers, Iguazu and Parana which converge at this point between the three countries . This place is close to the Iguazu falls in Argentina and Brazil.

Germany and Poland

Built on the river Odra, this bridge was once a means to travel from Poland to Germany. However, the Red Army blew it away in 1945. The border of Germany used to run along this river.

Spain and Portugal

Portugal is supposedly famous for having really bad roads, the picture on the left says its true! Earlier we mentioned walking for a mile and being able to cross three countries, now if national border security is not enough, there is another adventure sport available to get you the adrenalin rush. Start zip-lining from Spain, go across the river and land in Portugal. Sounds like fun?

USA and Russia

A pair of islands called the Diomedes are located in the Bering Strait between USA and Russia. The smaller island belongs to USA while the bigger one belongs to Russia. The Small Diomede has a population of 146 while the other one is uninhibited and these two are only 2.5 miles apart. But the ‘eyebrow raising’factor here is that the International Date line runs from between these tow islands which enables someone living on the Small Diomede to actually “Look in the Future”because its just a few miles away!

Netherlands and Belgium

The border of Netherlands and Belgium goes right across the town of Barla dividing it into two. The part of town in Belgium is known as Baarle Hertog and the part in Netherlands is known as Baarle-Nassau. The border divides many houses and cafes. Imagine how it would be like to live in two countries at the same time!

China and Macao

In China, people drive in the right-hand-side and Macao follows left-hand-side traffic due to the British influence. Tho lotus bridge has thus been built on the northernmost point of Macao where it shares the border with mainland China to felicitate the traffic rules. Hence on one side China traffic drives and on another Macao traffic drives.

Haiti and Dominican Republic

Another one like Brazil and Bolivia. Haiti practices deforestation whereas its neighbor likes to have thick forest. Due to this, the border is visible from a bird’s-eye-view.

USA and Canada

The way Baarle is divided between Netherlands and Belgium, Derby is divided between USA and Canada. The border, referred to as the “Derby Line” passes through many buildings and homes. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House were intentionally builton this border in such a manner that the entrance and seats are in the USA and the stage of the opera house is in Canada.

2 North Korea and South Korea

While talking about national borders visible from space, one ought to include the border shared by North Korea and South Korea. It can be seen in the picture how N. Korea is darker than even the sea it has on both the sides. Wonder how they manage without lights out there.

Norway and Sweden

The strip of land between two forests one of which belongs to Norway and another to Sweden serves as a border between the two countries. This is one of the most discussed “Unusual Border “ that you might come across. The picture on left, on the other hand, is the border passing through a bridge.